“The people creating this technology have the power to influence how it works, and that’s too big a responsibility for any single demographic to have full control. A lack of diverse ideas and representation could lead to further disparities between gender, race, and class.” – Forbes 2018
According to Datausa, only 9.6% of Computer Science degrees are awarded to folks of Latinx descent where they represent 18% of the U.S. population. Only 4.9% of Computer Science degrees are awarded to Black folks who make up 13.4% of the U.S population and Native Americans make up 1.3% of the U.S. population and receive only .03% of Computer Science degrees. How do the numbers work? For there to be a diverse distribution of Computer Science degrees, degrees should we awarded at roughly the same percentage of that groups’ U.S. population size i.e. Black folks should receive roughly 13% of Computer Science degrees.
To dissect the issue further, many of the top-paying tech companies have some of the worst diversity in the industry. Most companies fail to employ more than 7% of Latinx folks and 5% of Black folks.
Coding in Color aims to diversify academia and the tech industry through Computer Science education and opportunities. We need a larger piece of the (tech)pie.
Not only does diversity create better products and help cater towards diverse communities, but Computer Science and its related fields also have some of the highest paying careers. According to Glassdoor, a website where folks review companies and post content such as new jobs, interview questions and pay, roughly half of the top-paid careers are Computer Science related. What does this mean? Many Black, Latinx and Native American folks are not accessing these large earnings which could impact their socioeconomic status and their ability to invest in their own communities.
Diversifying the knowledge base from which ideas stem only leads to more good ideas, not less. We need to make sure folks from various backgrounds, especially those who are heavily underrepresented are getting not only a fair share of economic reward, but also the opportunity to shape technology and the way people interact with it.